flop you can have the truck if you bid on it.. lol I almost don't want it to sell. I had to relist it to get my money back after the last deadbeat bidder refused to pay saying he just didn't think he wanted it anymore. If it does sell, NEW PROJECTS are a coming!!!! I want a custom and a hot rod. not sure which one first. If it doesnt sell. well I will just get one project!! lol That bumper is kick ass man, I love watching this come together, gives me a complete new look at what CAN be done with some imagination. Are you doing this yourself, or do you have friends coming over and helping. and any news on the shop stuff?
In all seriousness, what do you mean you don't think you can smooth the bumper? With what you did to those quarter pieces, I don't think its out of your reach. Is there something I'm missing?
Yeah, that's pretty much what happened here, the rules and regs for a topless bar were too much, so the owners said F it and converted to strip joints. The local AFL* went nuts, but too bad. * AFL = "Anti Fun League", cause they're against anything most people I know (including me) would consider fun.
well no work today at the real job so i got a bunch of bumper work done. got the brackets that hold the bumper on welded to the frame as well as the bumper welded together where i took the 4 inches on each side out.. nuthin to exciting there so no pics. well when i took the 8 inches out of the bumper it lost some taper so the center section sits in about and inch now so i started to fix that . i welded a piece of channle to the 2 ends which would give me a straight line to go off of. i was gonna leave the liscense plate light where it was and have the new piece of metal behind it but i decided i didnt like it so i moved it back to the channel to make it staright with the rest of the bumper all finished up ..no it wasnt that easy got about 6 hours into welding and filing so its nice enough to chrome and it still needs a few very very tiny low spots brought up but thats gonna have to wait till the bumper comes off again. thanks guys thanks popo . good luck on your sale. im lookin to buy a place but nuthing comes around in the city and i dig bein in the city. most of the work is done myself . except for the help on cuttin the roof off and gettin that squared away and had help gappin the doors and takin the body lines out of the fenders. slownlow .. my reason for not smoothing is the weird taper designed into this bumper and the hooooooorendous weld from the factory and a big step from the factory that is about a half an inch tall. the step is built in to make the taper which is covered by the bumper guards. the center sticks out about a half inch from the end pieces which makes it look like it curves when everything is really straight. thats why the bumper guards where there in the first place im guessing to hide the weld and give the illusion of the curve when its really a step.. hope that makes some sense.
Butt welding the center section to the ends won't smooth the bumper out? As for myself, I liked the ornate quality of the Cadillac bumper guards but if you oppose gorp then they aren't for you.
Ya, I'm still confused Flop. Then again, rarely am I not. I usually need to be spoon fed these sort of things. Maybe I just can't see it in your pics, perhaps an in person would do the trick.
here the picture of the myseterious "step" well heres what ive been up to got some 1/8 inch plate which is the thickness of the bumper made a cardboard template transfered it to metal and there ya go well for some reason i expected it to bend easier lord knows why . out comes the torch. gett it nice and hot.. its hard runnin a camera and a torch well what i learned from this is use the most non pointy thing ya can to make it bend like a ball peen hammer .i used a body hammer with a chisel end first and it left knicks in the metal which will have to be welded up for chrome. also when it bends down it tends to bend in also so it had to be hit back towards the straight edge while it was still hot trim your ends then heat some more all of that to move back the liscense plate thingy an ince haha!! just didnt seems right when it was in its normal spot i will have the end results tomorrow
thanks slownlow and poor boy got the back finished and picked up a set of 49 caddy front bumper guards for the rear. yaaaaaaah gotta make things complicated i know . im about sick of it so i imagine you are too haha!! the new guards need sectioned 2 directions what a joy but i think they are gonna look killer when they are done though !!! more pics tomorrow .....
one of my favorite guards,,,used them on my 41 caddy too....(thats also a 49 caddy FRONT bumper on the REAR..)
they are a little different then the shape of the 53 bumper which will work to my advantage . im gonna take some verticle height out of them so the bullet is pretty much ontop of the bumper . at the same time taken some of the bulk out of the front of it it will all make sense tomorrow with pictures!! but they are some nice guards..... where did your caddy go to jim?
well heres some more sectioning the storys of the rear of the cars life for things that go on the bumper but it will make em go hmmmmmmmmm and still feel stock!! heres the finished part i welded onto the bumper those little reveals were a bitch because they had a taper to them alot of torch work on those fuckers heres the new bumper guard stock sitting on the bumper(49 caddy fronts) thanks for the tip jim!! didnt like the little reveal they had so off that went as did a ton of orig bumper guard material stock is on the right left is cut down .. notice how the sweep doesnt match up at the bottom which results in more cutting!! joy!! well heres is what i am left with after a ton of slicing and dicing and head scratching on where to cut these things so i could get contours to match up nice and tight and compact to the bumper but still add that heavy look to the car to the bumper heres stock and custom haha and stilll waiting for quarters !!!
Looks much better sectioned that way. Most wouldn't bother and it would still look good. Somehow you see beyond what's in front of you (and the work involved) and improve it. Good work Pete
I cant watch this anymore.. You make me sick.. I just want to go out in the garage but I have nothing to do.... (well I do but I dont want to turn the heater on and sit out there staring at the truck thinking what else I can do to it.)
thats striper you somehow got in my brain and figured out whats goin on haha . ahh i figure whats another 2 days of welding at this point might as well make it how i want . thanks alot for the kind words popo glad it makes ya throw up a little in your mouth. get your ass otu there and do sumthin easy makes ya feel better !! it was about 4 degreees here today when i came in the shop it was 37 so the heater had to run for a while to get me around 65 but what are ya gonna do gotta get shit done!!. atleast when the heaters on it stays warm my side of the shop was an old meat locker . the place we are in was a slaughter house so the walls are lined with about 4 inch thick cork.
Flop I've been reading your posts diligently. As people on this forum have stated, you are absolutely brilliant. You are trully an "Artist in Metal". Keep the posts coming, I view them as an education each time and I'm more than twice your age......Thanks
The work you are doing to that car is unreal! When it is done and painted up, no one will have any idea how much went into it. Great Work - That Car is Going to be Awesome!! AB
Hey Flop, This is the best thread going on the H.A.M.B. The work you are putting in to document this build is appreciated greatly. You're going above and beyond, and the really cool thing, is that through the magic of the internet in our modern age, you're able to multiply the results of your labor. Not only are you building this awesome car for yourself, but you helping or inspiring the hundreds of guys watching you to build something cool for themselves. For every dude who comments in the thread, there's probably 50 lurkers just being quiet and taking it all in. So what you're doing is bigger than just building one car. -James
wow,after reading the ENTIRE thread, I see flop has worn out a welding helmet on this build. beyond bitchin
The work you have done is awesome. Lots of information and very inspiring to read your post. Keep up the great work. Can't wait to see it finished.
thanks guys finished gettin the second one together today and wow do they sure as hell have a much better look then those 53 guards!!! gotta clean up the edges with some new plate steel to get a tight fit then weld and file until you are blue in the face!!
The Jalopy Journal
